Ok first of all, Estelle Laure is a GREAT writer. This book was incredibly well written and I loved her style from page 1. Now then why three stars? Well the blurb about this book did not even touch on some of the triggers this book has. I had no idea it would be so incredible dark. Interesting. Powerful. But dark.

There's May and Roxy's relationship which is tumultuous and for good reason. A lot of trauma there. Then there's the relationship May has to develop with herself to unleash her powers and find herself a bit.

I think I could have really enjoyed this if it hadn't had sooooo many dark issues. To be fair the author's note in the beginning mentions a lot of this, but I just didn't realize that would translate soooo heavily into the story.

Trigger warnings (another reviewer compiled this list but worth repeating!!): domestic and child abuse, drug use and abuse, PTSD, suicide, foster care issues, rape and murder to name a few.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this eARC! I had gotten an email recommending that I read it, and after I saw the blurb about it being The Lost Boys meets The Craft, I was so IN. Being raised by my mom who was a total 80s girl gave me a love of a lot of media from the time, but none so much as anything that had to do with supernatural happenstances or magic. These tales made the world feel much bigger, more exciting, and like anything could happen. This novel had the exact same vibe as we followed Mayhem on her journey to discover herself in a world that is desperate to keep her, and those like her down. It is amazing to watch her metamorphosis from a demure, hopeless teenager to a vibrant and self-assured woman who is done watching and waiting for life to get better. She takes life by the horns within these pages, and by the end she is riding astride it.

Mayhem is born to a mother, Roxy, from an infamous family in California. Due to reasons beyond her ken, Roxy stole them away one night after May's father's passing, leaving the comforts of home and ending up in the arms of a southern gentleman, or so he seems. Years go by, and Mayhem endures much suffering in Taylor, Texas. She never feels as though she fits in, and she sees her mother beaten again and again by her abusive step-father. Finally, it goes too far, and the two women take off again, but this time they return back home. Roxy's twin sister has kept up the family home and taken in foster kids that feel like her own; and she welcomes the runaways in with a full and gracious heart. Mayhem is desperate to fit in, and so she finds a place within the circle of Neve, Jason, and Kidd, and despite Roxy and Elle's warnings, the four of them careen into the point of no return.

These kids that Elle has taken under her wing have found out the secret of the Brayburns, and share it with Mayham. There is a kind of magic that has always been awaiting her in her veins, and once she unleashes it, she can see herself and everyone else with clear eyes. This sight threatens to fracture her relationship with her mother, but ends up saving them both. It also comes with a heavy responsibility; for years Brayburn women have used it to rid the earth of evil, and it's something that Mayhem must come to terms with, along with the fact that the power is an addiction, and it's one that is eating her friends alive. Our protagonist navigates these waters with the skill of a newborn sea turtle--instinctively and like it was what she was born to do. She has always had the strength within her, and it has been waiting for her to wake up.

I love this book not only for the supernatural elements, but that in spite of this, it is a book about finding your power and unleashing it. It is an anthem to all the women who have been silenced by society, men, themselves-- and how far we have come even in four or so decades. It is a plea to know that sometimes you don't have control over the things that happen to you. Everything that happens in your life is for a reason, even if it seems like complete chaos. There does come a point, however, where you have to choose to be complacent or if you want your voice to be heard, and Mayhem's story makes you want to yell from the rooftops. It reminds you to treasure your friends, the people by your side that push you and help you to grow, and love your family fiercely, but remember to turn those things on yourself as well. Listen to the whisper from the sea that there IS magic in the world if you know where to look, and some of it is there, waiting for you when you peer in the mirror. Give this novel a try if you're feeling less than or out of sorts. It will bring you back to your body with renewed purpose.

I don't really know how to review this story. It is an enjoyable read if you can wade trough the dark topics.

You ever read a book where you love the writing, the prose but not the story? Yeah, that was this book for me. I will be honest and say I was turned off from the very beginning because of the author's notes. Before the story even began the author was talking about her hard life, abuse, neglect and using that as important props within the story. Okay, I can get behind that, but from the blurb, this wasn't a dark abusive story, at least what I read didn't lean that way.

Well I thought this was going to be a fun story about youth, a but of bonding like in the Craft with some Lost Boys aspects like the blurb talked about, what this was, was a dark and violent story I was not prepared for nor did I want to read; it's very mis-labeled. Triggers: domestic and child abuse, drug use and abuse, PTSD, suicide, foster care issues, rape and murder to name a few.

While the author can write, and while I liked certain aspects of this story, it was overall a hard no for me. Had I been prepared or chosen this book because of the actual and real descriptions of the story I might have liked it better.

I was not the correct audience for this book as the darkness over road the beauty of the story for me. I do think others will enjoy reading this, especially if they are aware of the triggers beforehand. I will be reading more from this author in the future.

As a Gen X'er I couldn't resist a book with a description mentioning The Lost Boys and The Craft. The story of Mayhem Brayburn delivered on the weirdness. Mayhem returns with her mom, Roxy, to Santa Maria after being away for 13 years. Mayhem is thrilled to be away from her abusive stepfather and living in a beach town. But she's also trying to learn more about her family history, especially her dad, who died tragically when Mayhem was tiny.

I wish there was more exploration of the supernatural elements in this story. I wanted to learn more about the secret cave, what the water was, how it effected non-Brayburns, and what other things the Brayburns could do because of their powers. I would enjoy a series about these characters!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This story follows a young girl as she learns her family history is not exactly what she had thought. As she follows her mother's escape from an abusive home life, Mayhem learns that she's not just any teenager, she's the next in a long line of powerful witches who are responsible for the safety of those around them. The story plays up the strength in families and how each one of us can make a difference in our little piece of the world.

Book: Mayhem
Author: Estelle Laure
Rating: 3 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with an ARC.

This is another one of those books where the idea sounds great, but the way it was carried out just didn’t do it for me. I mean, read the summary and tell me that doesn’t sound great! It was just the way that everything was carried out and handled that just didn’t really do it for me. I should have loved this story, but I didn’t.

The characters felt flat and I honestly had a hard time keeping everyone straight. This isn’t a good sign in a book. I mean, it’s not like there was a super big cast of them or anything, but they just weren’t presented in a way that made me care about them. Plus, some of them changed at about the halfway point and it wasn’t for the best. I was just disappointed in the way the characters all played out.

The plot was okay. There was a lot places where it just didn’t really make sense to me. I know this is a retelling and all, but I just didn’t get the point of a lot of it. I’m not familiar with the original content either so that probably doesn’t help. It just felt super slow. Now, at the beginning, I was okay with the slow pace and the buildup, but it went on for far too long and I just didn’t enjoy it.

The writing was beautiful and that was actually what kept me going. Normally, I’m not a fan of the flowery writing, but the way Estelle wrote it was just amazing. It’s actually what saved me from giving this book a lower rating. I loved all of the details and how much time she took describing everything. It just put me right into the book and I didn’t want to come out.

So, I guess I do agree with the three star rating this book currently has on Goodreads. It’s not a bad book, but it’s not a great one for me either. I honestly don’t think that I was the intended audience-even though the summary was interesting. I don’t know….

Anyway, the release date for this one is a long way off. It doesn’t come out until July 14, 2020.

This book had me at The Lost Boys mashup. That is one of my favorite movies and I wondered if this book would do it justice.

I went into this excited about the mashup, not going to lie. I wanted to see how the author was going to incorporate it into the story. I gotta say it was interesting. I didn’t hate it. While I appreciated the mashup, I worried if there was blatant copying of said movie. Worries aside, I began reading. The story was pretty enjoyable for me. I was surprised that this YA read had a dark vibe to it. I personally loved that. Being set in the 80’s was also a plus for me. A total 80’s chick right here! I loved the mystery surrounding the magic. The author gave just enough for the reader to know but still keep it a mystery. The characters were pretty cool. Some I wasn’t sure about but you can’t love them all!

Tragedy, secrets, and empowerment is what fueled the story for me. This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I plan on checking out more of her work. All in all, this was enjoyable for me and I recommend giving it a chance. Especially if you’re a fan of said movie. I give this 4 stars.

This was a beautifully written story, we follow Mayhem and her family. A touch of magic is involved. A very immersive book to read that will suck you in from the beginning. A great beach read.

This book perfectly balances magic, with real life, with mystery, with quirky weirdness, with kickass characters. The author handles all the aspects of the books gracefully, making sure you don’t get too overwhelmed with any aspect. This book’s pace was heavenly, it went by so fast you I was surprised when I got to the acknowledgements. I loved it; I love the characters, Neve and Mayhem were both hurricanes, they were beautiful and complex and wild. The relationships between all the characters was well arced, layered perfectly with all the characters’ experiences.

My favorite aspect of the story was hands down the magic. It was mysterious, historical, and just something I’ve never seen before.

Highly recommend to pick this read up!

If you’re a fan of the movie the craft or practical magic this book is for you. It’s family, witchcraft, and a dash of romance at its finest. I really enjoyed this read! I would give it 4 stars only because i wish the sand snatchers character wasn’t resolved so quickly but I understand he wasn’t the main character of the story.

SoCal beach. The eighties. The Lost Boys. Secrets and horror. Estelle Laure’s YA horror has lots of adult appeal (that 80s nostalgia) and it comes out in July. I’ll save my full review til closer to that time.

Mayhem is a wonderful coming of age book with fantasy elements. It is both very light and very dark, both very warm and very cold, both wonderful and awful. It's just how life is, and written in such a way that all those emotions and atmosphere come across like you are really there, in Mayhem's skin.
This is the kind of book I will probably remember a couple of times when I'm looking for a book to read, hoping that other book will touch me like this one did.

What a delightful treat this book is! Through this coming of age, Young Adult tale, we are taken on a perilous adventure full of surprises and supernatural elements around every corner. The themes of growing up and truly finding yourself abound as we encounter this suspenseful and heart pounding tale. I found it a delightful mash-up of sorts between The Lost Boys and The Craft and have already pegged it to be a fantastic success! What's not to love when you mix magical elements, murder, and a family of witches in a setting that offers mystery and mystique?! I highly recommend this to be added to your TBR list at once.

I DNF'd this book. To me, it was unreadable. The tone, the writing, was stiff and overwrought and it weighed down the text. It just couldn't hold my attention.

It’s 1987. Mayhem and her mom, Roxy, flee their small town in Texas and Mom’s abusive husband, Lyle, to return to the place where Roxy said she’d never return - Home. To Santa Maria, California. They return to the Brayburn homestead - where generations of Brayburn women have raised the next generation. Living there now is Roxy’s sister, Elle. Elle survives as the women in her family have always survived - growing and selling what comes out of the ground. As well as performing um ,certain, mmm, favors or uh, spells for the locals. Gifts of sustenance are often left on the doorstep as offerings, gifts. When Mayhem and Roxy arrive, they find three new faces - siblings, Jason (Mayhem’s age) and Kidd (a ten-year old girl) and another girl (also Mayhem’s age), a dark and mysterious one named Neve. Elle has welcomed these three into her home and has taught them the Brayburn family secrets. It’s not long before the three initiate Mayhem into the fold as well. Somehow, these secrets will help Mayhem, Jason, and Neve (they’ll try to leave Kidd out of it), stop girls on the beach from being abducted and murdered by what they call vampires. They’re not the only ones who refer to the bad guys as vampires. So do the Frog Brothers, a pair of boys on the prowl of the Boardwalk trying to keep the town safe. Like, the Frog Brothers from the 1987 classic movie, The Lost Boys. One of the last lines of the book reaffirms this Lost Boys connection: “One thing I could never stomach about Santa Maria, all the goddamn vampires.” Mayhem finds answers and encouragement from a compilation of journal entries from her mother, her grandmother, great-grandmother, and so on. Darkness lurks around every corner. Not just from the “vampires” but from the threat of Lyle, as well.

A SoCal beach. The eighties. The Lost Boys. Secrets and horror. Estelle Laure’s YA horror has lots of adult appeal (that 80s nostalgia). It’s a bit of a slow read that could have used some tighter editing (and it’s already only a 300 page book) but it’s so great to have a new YA horror book in my hands, I barely cared. We’ll have to see how high the appeal will be with teens.

Magic, witches, family dramas, deeply flawed but interesting characters . I did not need more to tempt me to open this book. A fun read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First off, let's review this cover because it gets a 5 out of 5 stars for me. Eye catching, illustrative, gorgeous! Great, got that out of the way.

I have a hard time deciding whether or not I liked this book. The premise is promising, I'll never tire of magic and whodunit mystery. But throughout the story, most of the time, I felt distant with the characters. I didn't care about them, I just want to what will happen in the end.

Told from the first POV of the main character, it has a good start. But after a while, it just goes round and round. I wished things would go a little faster. I think a lot of the pages would be better used to exploring the cave and magical aspects because the story has a nice background but it was all for nothing. I was disappointed when the climax turned out to be the biggest turn off of this book.

Not everything about this book is a letdown. I liked how the magic work I found it really helpful to get insight into the world and very interesting. If only those things were getting more exposure. Overall, Mayhem is a fun read. Easy to get into with various magical props and a Lost Boys kinda story, this is perfect for you who enjoys YA magical realism.

This was just an okay book for me. I did not feel like the story was very creative and was a bit boring in parts.

I loved this!

This was pure gold - a perfect blend of dark themes and youthful spirit set against the backdrop of beach vibes and eighties nostalgia.

Mayhem seeks refuge at her aunt's farm in Santa Monica after being on the run from her abusive step-father. She befriends her three adopted cousins, Jason, Neve and Kidd, who introduce her to fun times at the boardwalk and on the beach. When Mayhem starts to feel a strange pull towards the ocean, her cousins reveal that a magical lineage runs deep in the Brayburn family and exists in the ancient water of the pier, and she is next in line to inherit magical powers that allow her to see other people's darkest secrets. Transformed, Mayhem's life is turned completely upside down as she realizes it is her birthright to protect the citizens of Santa Monica from a raving serial killer on the loose. But with this newfound power there are costs to be paid, and Mayhem must come to terms with what she has become and how to protect her family from even themselves.

I was delighted by this premise and the uniqueness of the magic system. I loved how it felt like it could somehow happen in real life, like it was just the perfect amount of magic in the modern world without leaning towards cheesy. I'm glad that this book shied away from the vampire trope, it felt completely on its own as a separate mystical evocation. And it was woven in so well with family dramas, particularly the relationship with Mayhem and her mother who was abused and beaten, but battling her own demons while addicted to pain pills and alcohol. These characters were flawed and deeply layered. The plot was well-structured and well-articulated. The characters were vivid and jumped off the page. The pacing was smooth and I was never counting pages. It read a little young, but dealt with death and murder and the morality of being a vigilante in a very mature way. All in all, a fantastic, enjoyable read.

Thank you to netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

BEACH. GOTHIC.

I was so excited to get my hands on this book! The cover is amazing, the blurb is amazing, and, one more time for everyone in the back: BEACH GOTHIC. The writing absolutely didn't disappoint; Estelle Laure is lyrical, vivid, and just a little unhinged with her prose. This created an atmosphere that wedged itself in my head for days, in all its glittery, dark, witchy glory. I LOVED the headiness of Santa Monica and I loved how real it all felt. It's a world I would happily return to again & again.

But. There's always a but. And to be honest, I'm struggling to articulate exactly what my 'but' is with this book. Mayhem's character felt a little like a placeholder, good when she was supposed to be good, vengeful when she was supposed to be vengeful. Jason was the voice of reason. Neve was the voice of chaos. There was such potential for a fascinating dynamic between them, and although it *almost* got there, I feel like all the complexity was handed to us on a plate and never properly explored. This is applicable to several aspects of the plot; lengthy 'training' sessions that Mayhem easily masters, a hunt for a serial killer that unfolds without any hitches, a romance with all the heat of an ice block, a book-long threat of an abusive husband that is settled because of ... crows? Again, it's ALMOST there. But too easy. Too much leapfrogging from problem to problem, never diving deep, never stitching the pieces together. So many heavy themes were tossed around - legacies, maternal bonds, vigilante justice, abuse - and in the end I just ... wasn't sure what the point was? Where was I supposed to focus? How can a book with so many complicated problems feel too *easy*? And why why why did Laure feel the need to lift the Frog brothers directly from THE LOST BOYS when they served basically no purpose? It tripped me up, because there's a fine line between being "inspired" by something and straight-up just ripping it off.

Phew. Again, it really is a hard one, because there was so much I loved about MAYHEM. I'd give the atmosphere and writing a solid five stars, but the technicalities caught me up. Nevertheless, I would recommend to YA readers who like their murders justified and their beaches lit up with parties & magic. 3.5/5.